What is a Patient Portal?
A patient portal can
mean several different things and be used in different and unique ways!
A patient portal can be “online access” to a patient’s clinical chart by the medical
practice. These portals are usually designed to access information from the
provider’s website or kiosk station in office.
This type of portal is used mostly to view information such
as lab and radiology results. More
information available will be the patients past medical histories, preventative
personal care plan recommendations, messaging (non urgent communications) and
appointment request.
Meaningful use stage two, starting in 2014 for some
providers, will require 10% of patient’s have this style of portal to access their
records. McKesson’s Webview portal is a
good example of a cloud based patient portal.
Another popular type of portal is the “registration portal” style allowing patient’s to sign in at the
time of visit and/or pre-register. This
is usually done by handing the patient a tablet for them to enter their
demographic and insurance coverage information.
Now
keep an eye out for more custom portals that act as “data collection tools” that allow the patient to complete patient
intake medical forms, including medications, allergies, surgeries, past medical
history and sign office clinical forms at the time of patient visit. This type of portal reduces the workflow of
staff – freeing up time for other clinical tasks!
“e-patient
clipboard” portal is one of those custom “data collection tools” that is
working functionally in offices today. This more patient centered, functional portal
will improve efficiencies, reduce operating costs and increase patient
involvement in their patient care.